A Trainer's Revenge
by ADF09
Summary: When your friends are taken from you, what else is there to do then make the one responsible pay? M for language and violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

* * *

"Charizard, what are you doing?" yelled Ash as the orange dragon burst out of its pokeball and started flying upwards. It rose higher and higher, roaring at its target.

On the ground, Ash looked around him. Brock was looking at his Pokémon, silent. To his right, Misty looked on at the monster that caused the destruction of the city. All around them, Pallet Town was no more than a pile of rubble. Professor Oak's lab was demolished. The old windmill was burning, and Ash's house was no more. The houses were bombarded with flames and lightning, destroying everything they hit. Oak, Tracey, Delia and the other survivors had fled to Viridian City to get help, but that was over an hour ago. Either they were having trouble finding help or…

Ash shook his head. He refused to believe that they didn't make it. They'd be here soon. He looked up and saw Charizard roaring at the three-headed Pokémon that destroyed his home. Charizard launched flames repeatedly, but the agile Pokémon dodged them and taunted Charizard by cawing and snapping its beaks again and again.

"This… no!" he heard Misty say. "GYARADOS!" she yelled as she threw a pokeball into the water. The blue serpent appeared and reared its vicious head in the bird Pokémon's direction. "Dragon Rage!"

Gyarados charged a huge sphere of flames in its mouth and let it loose at its target. Zapmolcuno, distracted by Ash's Charizard, didn't see it coming and was struck on the Zapdos head. The head screeched in pain, looking for who had hit it. Its eyes found Gyarados, and it opened its beak, charged its own sphere, and launched it.

"No- Gyarados, return!" she cried. The pokeball's red beam hit Gyarados, and it glared at its trainer for a moment before letting itself be recalled. A second later, the Zap Cannon crashed into the water and exploded. The water lit up and arcs of electricity soared from the surface. After it died down, wild Pokémon the likes of Staryu, Krabby, and Tentacool floated up to the surface, fried.

Tears poured out of Misty's eyes as she fell to her knees. The death of so many water Pokémon had her feeling worse than she ever felt before. She had already lost most of her Pokémon in this fight, including Starmie who had been impaled in its center jewel, and her Golduck who was frozen and then shattered into pieces.

Brock's Pokémon fared no better; Steelix had met the same fate as Golduck. His Crobat had been hit with an Ice Beam while it was flying over water, and with its wings being frozen, fell into the sea, never resurfacing.

The older teen approached Ash and put a hand on his shoulder. "You're the one with the amazing ideas to get us out of trouble..." he said with a serious look. "Got anything?"

Ash chuckled darkly, and looked down at his Pikachu in his arms who had begun to stir. "Brock, if I could've done anything to stop this from happening, I would've done it already…" He looked Brock in the eye. "You want my honest opinion…? I think we-"

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Misty screamed. She was on all fours, her hands gripping the grass. "I'm… I'm through with this…! M-my Pokémon… they're gone…!" she began to cry hard, not caring to wipe away the tears. She got to her feet and started running towards the hill near them, the point where she could get the closest to Zapmolcuno. She reached the top and began to yell. "YOU KILLED MY POKEMON! YOU… you…!" again, she was brought to her knees, replaying over and over how her Pokémon were killed right in front of her. "WHAT IS IT YOU WANT! US! I DON'T CARE ANYMORE, TAKE MY LIFE AND BE DONE WITH IT! I-"

"GVROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAWH!"

Charizard's roar had silenced the young water Pokémon trainer. She stopped and looked up, surprised and scared, at Charizard. It had stopped in mid-air, and it began to roar angrily at Misty, spewing embers in the process. It had tears falling down its face, and blood running down its arms; it had been balling its hands into fists so hard its claws dug into its own palms. It roared again and again at Misty, flailing its tail about madly and sent Flamethrowers in her general direction, none ever really hitting her.

"MISTY!" yelled Ash as he ran to her, Brock not too far behind. He fell to his knees and embraced her, whispering to her that everything was okay. She tore her eyes off the dragon still spewing fire at her and began to cry her eyes out again.

Brock stared at Charizard with understanding eyes. "Ash…" he said. "…what is it saying?"

"It's angry at Misty, Brock." Said Ash as he hugged Misty closer to him. "It's really angry at her. It's saying she's a weak coward. That she's not the only one to have lost precious friends to that monster." Ash glanced towards Zapmolcuno, who had Snorlax's arm stuck in between the Moltres and Articuno head. He turned away, replaying the moment his Snorlax was swept up, ripped apart and… eaten. "It's saying it's angry at the one who took its friends, but even more so at someone who would willingly give up without even trying to avenge them. It's saying it'll kill that bird, or die trying…"

Brock moved swiftly in front of Ash and, after picking him up off the ground, punched him in the face. Ash held his chin, looking away while Misty stared wide-eyed at Brock.

"Brock, what are you-!"

"!"

They all looked up, and saw that Charizard had finally reached Zapmolcuno, and began to fiercely engage the Pokémon, dodging bolts of electricity being sent its way.

"No." Brock said, bringing their attention back to him. "What are YOU two doing?" He stood over Misty and was looked at Ash. The flashes of random Thunderbolts being sent across the night sky behind him made him seem even more imposing. "I've lost all but one Pokémon to that stupid bird, but have you ever heard me once complain?" Ash looked at Brock, who was looking at him with fury in his eyes. "Ash, your Charizard has more sense than you and Misty put together. It probably knows that it can't do anything to stop it, and yet it's still fighting that fucking bird. Not for itself, but for its friends and for us. For Misty to cry and ask to be killed is an insult to the memory of our Pokémon and the Pokémon still willing to fight." Brock looked down at Pikachu, who was looking at him with sparks coming out of its cheeks. It wasn't threatening him; it was showing him that it wanted to fight to the bitter end.

Brock took a deep breath and said "I'm not giving up without a fight." He smiled as he pulled his last pokeball off his belt, enlarged it, and held it at the ready while glaring at Zapmolcuno, waiting for Ash's cue.

Ash looked at Misty, whose tear streaked face no longer showed signs of despair. She looked at him and nodded. Getting to her feet, she too pulled out her last two pokeballs and, mimicking Brock, glared at the bird still fighting Charizard.

"Pika!" said Pikachu, jumping onto Ash's shoulder. "Pika-pi! Pi pika-chu, pika!"

"You too, huh?" he said. The yellow Pokémon nodded, and Ash looked up to see Charizard trying, and failing, to land a hit on Zapmolcuno with a Flamethrower. "Okay." He said, turning his cap backwards, tearing his last pokeball off his belt and threw it in the air.

"Pidgeot-toooooo!" screeched Pidgeot as it burst out of its pokeball. It flew in a circle, and came to rest next to Ash.

"Pidgeot, I want you to take Misty up in the air."

"What?" Misty said. "Ash, I don't think that's a good idea… Why don't you take Brock? I think he-"

"I'm good." Said Brock. He called out his last Pokémon, and a giant bird came out beside him. It resembled a pterodactyl.

"Had fun on Cinnabar Island?" asked Ash.

"A breeder's work is never done."

Brock and Ash mounted Aerodactyl, while Misty reluctantly got onto Pideot's back.

"Misty, you have to trust it the way it trusts you." Ash said. The bird Pokémon turned its head and looked at Misty. Misty took a deep breath, and nodded to the majestic bird. The avian nodded back in acknowledgment

"You'll trust me?" Misty asked.

"Pidgeot!" it chirped.

"Well, if I'm going to be in the air…" Misty said. "Gyarados! Milotic!" She threw her pokeballs into the water and Gyarados appeared again, staring at Zapmolcuno with bloodlust. Milotic appeared beside it, an elegant air about it; but also radiating a dangerous aura. "They'll back us up from the water."

"Let's hurry; Charizard can't hold it off for much longer." Said Brock.

As they soared through the air, Ash took one last look at his lost Pokémon. His Bulbasaur had been charred to a crisp, and lay smoldering on the hill next to where they had taken off. Totodile, despite being a water type, was also burned beyond recognition before the Moltres head tossed it up in the air… and swallowed it. Ash turned his gaze towards the monster that had taken his friends. He'd make it pay.

"I'd love to cut off that Articuno head myself..." Brock said to himself.

Ash agreed with him. The Articuno head made short work of Brock's Pokémon. Himself, he wanted the Moltres head. It'd burned up Bulbasaur, ate Totodile and tore apart Snorlax. He glared up at it with hatred in his eyes. He'd make it pay.

As they gained altitude, Zapmolcuno was none the wiser; it was still toying with Charizard, cawing and launching electric attacks at it. Charizard was getting more frustrated by the second. After trying and again failing to hit the bird with a Flamethrower, it roared. It rose above Zapmolcuno, flying higher and higher until it stopped and entered a dive. It pulled back it's fist glowing with power.

"Charizard, watch out!" Ash yelled.

Charizard looked at its trainer then back at its target before spinning to the side and away. Zapmolcuno had hidden Articuno's head behind the other two, and just barely missed Charizard with an Ice Beam. The other heads turned towards Ash's voice and were met with more opposition.

The three headed Pokémon went to meet its new opponents. Ash and co. scattered after it launched Thunderbolts and Ice Beams at them.

"Charizard!" called Ash. Charizard flew in a wide arc, towards its trainer. Ash patted Brock on the shoulder, nodded, and jumped off Aerodactyl, landing on Charizard's back.

"Gyarados, Dragon Rage! Milotic, use Ice Beam!" yelled Misty. The Pokémon obeyed, and the Zapmolcuno swerved this way and that to avoid the barrage of attacks directed at it.

"C'mon Aerodactyl!" said Brock, urging his Pokémon to join the fight. "DragonBreath!"

"Aeeerooooooo!" it screeched before launching a green/blue beam. Zapmolcuno easily moved to dodge it and countered with a Flamethrower. It hit Aerodactyl's wing, but being a Rock type, it was nothing to big.

"Are you alright, Brock?" asked Misty, flying towards him.

"Yeah, that was close. But I don't think attacks from a distance are going to work."

"Then we'll attack from up close!" Ash yelled. "Misty, distract it!"

"Pidgeot, fly circles around it!" Misty said.

Pidgeot then began to fly around Zapmolcuno, cawing every now and then to confuse it. It was still busy dodging flying DragonRage and Ice Beams.

"Aerodactyl, fly behind it! Rip Articuno's head off!" Brock commanded, and flew straight towards the three headed Pokémon.

Zapmolcuno, whilst barely moving out of the way of an Ice Beam, saw Aerodactyl flying straight towards it and launched its own Ice Beam. Aerodactyl dove and avoided it, but instead the Ice Beam hit Pidgeot's tail. It began to panic and flap its wings frantically.

"Charizard, help it! Use Ember!" Ash cried. Charizard sent its attack and it hit Pidgeot's frozen tail, thawing it out enough for the avian to regain flight control.

"Pidgeot, fly circles around it again." Said Misty, but Pidgeot instead flew straight at Zapmolcuno, its wings glowing bright white. "Pidgeot, no!" cried Misty, but on it flew.

The bird Pokémon focused on the bright wings and launched another Ice Beam, this time freezing Pidgeot's entire wing. It screeched, and spiraled out of control down to the Earth.

"MISTY! Charizard, GO!" Ash yelled, and dove after them. "Misty, jump!"

Misty jumped off of Pidgeot, and began her free-fall. Drawing its wings to its body, Charizard began to fall faster, and scooped up Misty in its arms.

"Charizard, use Ember on Pidgeot's wing, hurry!"

Charizard launched its attack again and again, but the avian squirmed too much to be able to land a hit. Charizard pulled up, and Ash looked on as his Pidgeot hit the ground; its neck at an unnatural angle, and its wing shattered.

Ash felt tears sting his eyes. He had lost four of his precious friends… No, even more. Professor Oak didn't have enough time to transfer the Pokémon that were at his Lab to a Pokémon center. His only Pokémon left were Pikachu and Charizard.

"_Pikachu!" _he thought. The thought hadn't even occurred to him to use it. It was holding on between Ash's legs, sparks flying at how angry it was, and he got an idea.

"Charizard, to Brock!" Ash cried. The dragon roared its response and soared to Aerodactyl while Ash helped Misty onto Charizard's back. Brock and Aerodactyl were having a hard time diving and weaving between Zapmolcuno's constant barrage of Ice Beam and Thunderbolt.

"Brock, what happened to Gyarados and Milotic?" Ash yelled.

"Gyarados got hit with Thunder! Milotic's alright but the attack traveled through the water! I think its hurt!"

Misty looked frantically before spotting Milotic, who was still using Ice Beam, but not as often. She felt her heart ache when she didn't see Gyarados anywhere.

"We need to end this now! Take Misty!" Ash yelled, and pushed Misty off Charizard. Aerodactyl dived and Misty landed on its back.

"Ash Ketchum, where do you get off pushing me off a Pokémon that's flying thousands of feet in the air?" Misty yelled.

"Distract it! Pikachu, get on Charizard's head!" Ash called.

"Pika!"

The rodent Pokémon made its way to Charizard's head, and Ash saw Aerodactyl flying circles around Zapmolcuno, launching DragonBreath repeatedly. He took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly.

"Charizard, come up from under it! Pikachu when we're close enough, use Thunder!"

"Groar!"

"Pika!"

Charizard flew higher and higher towards Zapmolcuno. It flew this way and that, avoiding Aerodactyl's DragonBreath and Milotic's Ice Beam, and didn't notice anyone under it until it heard Pikachu's cry.

"Piiiiiikaaaaaaa-CHUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

The attack landed, and Zapmolcuno flapped around frantically.

"Ice Beam/DragonBreath!" cried Misty and Brock, and both Pokémon landed their attacks simultaneously. Zapmolcuno screeched again, being paralyzed and frozen. Milotic froze both its wings, and Aerodactyl fried the Articuno head. It then began to fall, trying to free itself from the ice encasing its wings.

"Charizard, chase it; use Fire Blast!" yelled Ash angrily. It roared in response and dove towards Zapmolcuno, launching Fire Blasts again and again.

"Ash, what are you doing? You'll thaw out its wings!" yelled Brock.

Ash ignored him. This monster killed his friends and he'd make it know the agony they went through before they died.

Again and again, it was hit with Fire Blast until it crashed into the ground. The smell of burnt feathers and charred skin was in the air. Aerodactyl landed next to it first, and without being told anything, shook off its passengers and viciously bit at the Zapdos' neck. Blood spurted out, and it screeched in agony as Aerodactyl Crunched again and again on its neck until it was severed from its body. Aerodactyl flew towards the water, dumped the head into the sea and returned next to its trainer, staring at the remaining living head.

No one said a word as Charizard landed. Ash and Pikachu jumped off, and they looked on at the Moltres head writhing in pain. It got to its feet, and sent a Fire Spin towards Aerodactyl, but it was blocked by a Flamethrower from Charizard. It charged the now one-headed avian, and hit it with a fist glowing with power. Blood seeped from the Moltres nostrils, and again and again Charizard assaulted it with Mega Punch after Mega Punch to the chest until it collapsed on the ground.

"Pikachu, Charge." Ash said.

"Piiiiiiiiiiiiiii…" Pikachu charged itself with electricity, transferring the majority of the electricity stored in its cheeks to the rest of its body. It began to glow bright yellow.

"Thunder."

"Pikaaaaaaaaaaa-CHUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Pikachu unleashed its attack, and again the Moltres head screeched in pain. Pikachu's attack didn't end. Five seconds passed, it was still discharging electricity. Ten seconds, and Moltres' screeches ceased. Fifteen seconds, Moltres' eyes burst. After twenty seconds of continuous Thunder, Pikachu stopped its attack and wobbled toward Ash, who scooped it up and held it in its arms while looking at the now deceased Zapmolcuno.

As they all stood there looking at the corpse, the realization of it all hit them full-force. Their friends, who had helped them fight, who had helped them LIVE, were no longer going to come back. Ash could hear Misty's light sobbing behind him. Brock's face was stoic, devoid of emotion, but he knew he was hurting just as much.

"M-Milotic, return." Misty said as she recalled her Pokémon. She looked at Ash. "S-should we… Do you think we should-"

"No… I don't think so." he said. "This… This was a battlefield. Even if we move the bodies we can find, they'll stay here. I think… I think we should leave it at that."

"I-I agree." Stuttered Brock.

Pallet Town was no longer Ash's home. Pallet Town was now the gravesite for his, Brock's, and Misty's Pokémon, who had fought and died to protect them.

They turned to where the battle began, and where the bodies of their Pokémon lay. They bowed their heads, and uttered a simple thank you to them all. Words couldn't describe how they felt.

Charizard roared with tears in its eyes; a final farewell to its friends whom it wouldn't see again.

Pikachu was silent. Tears streamed down its face as it said its own silent goodbyes.

Ash took off his hat, and laid it on the ground. He would never forget their Pokémon's sacrifice. He turned, and began to mount Charizard again.

"Ash... where are you going?" asked Misty.

"To find out who made this," Ash said, pointing to Zapmolcuno's corpse. "and to find out who's responsible for the death of our Pokémon."

"We're coming with you." Brock said, mounting Aerodactyl. Misty climbed on after him.

"I figured you would." Ash replied.

* * *

A man was sitting in his easy chair, sipping wine and petting his Persian. The fireplace was the only source of light in the room, and it cast ominous shadows on the walls. The man heard someone open the door and enter.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Boss sir, the Zapmolcuno you had ordered created has been killed."

The man paused for a moment, and then resumed petting his Persian. "Thank you. Keep me updated on those brats."

"Sir. At present, they seem to be making their way to Viridian City."

"I see. Anything else?"

"That's all, sir."

"You're dismissed."

The man left, and the Boss sipped at his wine again. For a minute, he kept petting his Persian. Then, he smiled wickedly.

"You're one hell of an interesting child... Ash Ketchum."

* * *

**And so ends the first chapter. To be perfectly honest, I've been wanting to write a Pokemon fic for a long time; But I'm not really confident in my writing skills. It actually took coaxing from my friends to post this here.**

**I'm open to any kind of criticism, flaming or otherwise. At the very least it'll help me become a better writer.**

**Note: I had actually intended this to be an Ash/Misty fic, but I'm horrible at romance. ;x We'll see where this ends up, though.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

* * *

The only sound coming from... well, anywhere was the wind blowing past them as they rode to Viridian by air. None of them spoke, they simply reflected on the past few hours and how amazing it seemed that, in such a short amount of time, their lives had been changed forever. In silence, they arrived in Viridian and, in silence, they made their way to the Pokemon Center. In silence, they recalled their Pokemon into their pokeballs and gave them to Nurse Joy for much needed medical attention. In silence, they made their way to a far off corner of the Center and sat down on the floor. They were together, of course, but each was in their own world, replaying again and again what had happened, and wondering what they should do next.

Misty was the first to break the silence. "Ash... Umm... what now?"

He didn't know. Again, silence pervaded the air around them and Brock, apparently fed up with sitting still, stood up and began to pace back and forth between the entrance and the wall he was facing a moment ago. Misty sat next to Ash, who sat looking down at the tiled floor.

"Ash..." she said, putting her hand on her shoulder.

"We need to... We need to find out what happened." he said, sorrow evident in his voice. "We need to find out where that thing came from and why it attacked my home."

"Could it have been because you were named Kanto Regional Champion not three days ago?" asked Brock, who had stopped pacing and settled for leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"Who would have a grudge against Ash for becoming Champion? No one he battled would've done anything that drastic." Misty reasoned. "Besides, we're talking about three Legendary Pokemon merged into one. It's hard enough just catching even a glimpse of one."

"Well that fucking bird didn't just decide to wreck Pallet Town because it could. Out of anyone there, except maybe Professor Oak, Ash is the only one someone would have a problem with."

Their eyes fell on the trainer in question, who had gotten up and began walking towards the counter to retrieve his Pokemon. Pikachu muttered a greeting before taking his place on Ash's shoulder. He felt so much lighter... probably because he now only carried one Pokeball at his waist. He walked back towards Brock and Misty and addressed them both.

"I'm sorry." he said. "I... I don't think I should've come home."

"Ash, don't talk like that." Misty said. "You couldn't have known what was going to happen, so don't blame yourself." she stepped forward and hugged him. "You came home for a celebration, there's nothing wrong with that."

Brock looked at Ash, debating on whether he should be a friend and agree, or act on his anger and blame him for losing his Pokemon.

"I'm sorry Misty... and I'm sorry, Brock."

"...You don't have to apologize." Brock said finally. "We'll find out why your hometown was picked and we'll do something about it."

Ash looked at him for the first time that day, and with fire in his eyes he nodded at his best friend, agreeing with him. Misty sighed, and was about to suggest leaving when the Pokemon Center doors burst open.

"ASH KETCHUM WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" yelled Delia, who in tears ran to her only son.

"Mom..?" he managed to say before being pulled into a bone-crushing hug.

"MISTYYYYY!" screamed three high-pitched voices who belonged to her sisters Daisy, Violet and Lily.

"What are you three doing here?" she asked, surprised.

"Brock." said Flint, walking towards his son.

"Dad." Brock replied, nodding to his father.

"What are you all doing here?" asked Ash.

"Looking for you." said Professor Oak as he walked in. "We came to Viridian City for help after... whatever that thing was, started destroying the town. Unfortunately, officials here were already busy trying to handle an uproar caused by the people when someone destroyed the Gym here."

"The Viridian Gym was destroyed?" Ash asked.

"Yes," Oak continued. "It happened before we got here. Anyway, we found Gary here and asked him to run to Pallet to help you."

Gary walked into view from behind Oak, not saying a thing but looking at Ash with sad eyes.

"When he came back, he wouldn't tell us what he saw other than that you three weren't there."

Ash looked at Gary. He was holding something oddly familiar behind him.

"I figured you'd want this back." he said, holding out Ash's red and white hat to him. He looked at it, remembering how hard he had worked and how long he had waited to get that had in the mail. He left it in Pallet Town for a reason, but assumed Gary knew. Nonetheless, he uttered a small thanks and took it, but instead of wearing it he put it on Pikachu.

"Sweety... what happened?" Delia asked between sobs. "You three look awful..."

Awful would be an understatement. They were sweaty, dirty, and looked like they've been through hell.

"We've... we've had a rough night." Ash croaked, his voice breaking.

"Nurse Joy," called Professor Oak. "Is there somewhere where we could all talk? Privately, of course."

"Of course." she said. "This way."

She led them to the back of the Pokemon Center, past operating rooms and exam rooms to a room that looked like a conference room. It had a large table in the middle and many chairs. They all took a seat, Ash sitting at the head of the table with Misty to his right and Brock to his left, and everyone else at the other side. After they were all seated the adults took in the ragged teenagers' appearance. They indeed looked awful; there were tired looks on their faces, and the normal glint in their eyes when the three were together wasn't present. After a minute or so of silence, Gary spoke.

"Ash... I saw corpses of Pokemon strewn across the coast. Pallet Town can't even be called a 'town' anymore, and Gramps here said the Pokemon at the lab all perished, mine included. I want to know what happened to my home."

Ash scoffed. "Where should I start?"

"The beginning." Delia said sternly.

Ash sighed. He never could win against his mother.

He took few deep breaths before he started to explain. "After being named Champion, there were a few things I needed to sort out at Indigo League HQ. After that was done, I called mom to tell her I'd be coming home for a while..."

* * *

The sun was setting as Ash walked down the street to his home with Pikachu on his head, a smile on it's face. He couldn't blame it; he felt pretty good himself. After years of training he had finally beaten Lance and become the Champ. He was allowed to feel cocky, wasn't he?

He walked into his house and as soon as he did he was pulled into a tight embrace.

"My baby's the Champion!" cried Delia, hugging Ash tight. "Oh Ash, I'm so proud of you!"

"I missed you too, mom." he said, returning the hug.

"Congratulations, Ash." said Professor Oak, closing the front door. "I knew I saw something in you the first time you came to my lab. Even though you were in your pajamas." he finished with a grin.

Ash blushed, remembering how he had been late in getting his first Pokemon. He was happy he was, however. If he had arrived on time, he probably would never have met Pikachu.

As he talked more with Professor Oak and his mom about what he'd do now, he looked around his house. It was crowded; apparently the residents of Pallet Town all came to congratulate Ash on his victory. Although there were a lot of people, his house itself hadn't changed much. Everything was the same as when he first left on his Pokemon journey.

"Your birthday... it was last week, wasn't it?" asked Professor Oak.

"Pika!" answered Pikachu.

"It was... I kinda forgot about it, though." Ash said, scratching the back of his head. "I was so busy training it just passed by without me realizing."

"Well, I have a present for you that I think you'll like." said Delia with a knowing smile. "Why don't you go upstairs and see for yourself?"

Ash dismissed himself from his mom and Oak and made his way to his room, muttering greetings and thank yous to the people who congratulated him. He didn't know what his mom had gotten him. No one had called him for his birthday, but he didn't mind much; he was busy anyway. He made his way upstairs, down the hall and when he opened the door to his room he was met with a familiar face with squinty eyes.

"Hey Mr. Champion." Brock said with a smile, picking himself off the floor and pulling Ash into a brotherly hug.

"Pika-Chu!" Pikachu cried, jumping onto Brock.

"I missed you too, little guy." Brock laughed, petting the yellow Pokemon. "So what's up with you, man?" He asked Ash. "Too big a celebrity for us little people?"

"Not even close," Ash laughed, sitting down on the floor with Brock. "What are you doing here?"

"Your mom called and asked me to come for a celebration party, and to surprise you since we all missed your birthday." he said. "Happy birthday, by the way. How's finally being an adult feel?"

"No different than being a kid." Ash answered. He had turned 18 last week, but if he was being honest he felt no different than when he turned 17 or 16.

They caught up with each other on what they've been doing in their time apart. Brock still wanted to be a breeder, but had to teach his younger brother Forrest how to be a tough trainer so he can one day become Pewter City's Gym Leader while Brock can focus on breeding. While they spoke, Ash noticed Brock had changed. His grew his hair out a little more, and it was in a spikier, wilder style than it used to be. He now wore faded black jeans, a black shirt with a single orange stripe running across it and a dark green vest. He thought it suited him.

Ash had adopted a new style of clothing, himself. His trademark hat still sat atop his head, but he had taken to wearing a red undershirt, a black sleeveless hoodie, black cargo pants and red/white gloves. He had always worn a belt, but his cargo pants fit him just fine without it, so he had instead put the belt through only one belt loop on the left side of his waist and let the rest hang on his right, which was where he kept his Pokeballs. He thought his new outfit made him look like a more intimidating trainer... but maybe he just looked silly.

The door opened behind Ash, and a feminine voice called out "Brock, are you sure Ash would like this?"

A young orange haired woman entered the room, carrying a large package that obscured Brock and Ash from her view. As fast as he could, Brock got up, tossed Pikachu, who was still perched on his shoulder, into Ash's arms, and shoved him into the closet.

* * *

Misty stood up and shouted "WHAT? You mean Ash was already there?", causing a few people at the table to laugh.

Brock face-palmed, and looked at Ash with a smile on his face.

"Oops." said Ash, a remnant of a smile on his face. "I forgot, man."

"Well, whatever." Misty huffed as she sat back down. "Sorry, keep going."

* * *

"Pikachu-Pi?" Pikachu asked Ash. He nodded, and put a finger to his lips, signaling it to stay quiet.

"What was that sound?" He heard Misty ask as he heard her put the box down.

"Just rummaging through Ash's things." Brock lied. "Some of his clothes would probably fit him a little snug now, if he tried to wear them." he finished with a laugh.

"I bet!" Misty laughed. "I wonder when he'll be coming? His mom said he should be here soon... Oh! That's right; are you sure he'll like it?" She was referring to the box, Ash figured.

"I'm sure he will." said Brock, glancing at the closet with a smirk; knowing Ash was watching him. "He'll have fun opening it, at least. Moreover, Misty, I don't think you're ready to see him."

"WHAT?" she said, looking herself up and down. Ash put a hand to his mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

"Yeah." Brock continued. "Why's your hair still up in a ponytail? And where's the skirt your sisters brought you?"

Misty looked down at her feet and blushed furiously. She'd been crushing on Ash for years, but he had never shown signs of noticing her advances (however subtle they were). "I-I don't know, Brock..." she said. "What if he doesn't like it?"

"C'mon, Misty." Brock said, turning her around and pushing her towards the door. "You want Ash to look at you in a new light, right? Trust me; he'll love your new look. Go!"

"B-But..!"

"No buts! Go! Before he gets here!" He pushed her out of the room and shut the door. He heard her sigh from through the door and walk downstairs.

"Man, that was close." Brock sighed. He turned around to see Ash and Pikachu fall out of the closet trying to get out. He shook his head, looking at his friend lying in a pile of his old clothes.

"What was that all about, Brock? Why was I supposed to hide?" he asked.

_'Still as dense as ever, I see...' _Brock thought. "Well, this WAS supposed to be a surprise, but you came home earlier than we expected." Brock explained. _'It's not entirely ruined, I suppose...'_ He smiled to himself, and then looked up to see Ash shaking the box Misty had brought in.

"What's in this?" he asked before putting it down to open it.

"Nope!" Brock said, taking it away from him. "You can't open it until Misty gives it to you. And when she does, ACT SURPRISED. She's not supposed to know you're already here, got it?" He threw him a serious look.

"Y-Yeah, got it..." Ash said, and Brock's smile came back.

"Alright! Well, you should jump out your window right about now."

"WHAT?" he exclaimed. "Why would I do that?"

"If you leave this room, Misty might find you. And since we don't want her knowing you're here..."

Ash shook his head, smiling. His friends hadn't changed at all.

"I'll call you later on your PokeGear to let you know when you can come back in." Brock said.

"Yeah, yeah" Ash said, opening his window and throwing a leg over the sill. "I'll be in the backyard."

He thew his other leg outside and let himself hang out his window. He then kicked off the side of the house and grabbed onto a branch of the tree in his yard. He made his way to the ground and figured he'd let his Pokemon stretch their legs/wings.

"Okay guys," Ash said, releasing his Pokemon. "Half hour of doing whatever you want!"

Bulbasaur began chasing Totodile and Pikachu, starting up a game of tag. Snorlax decided to lounge about, resting up against the tree to snooze. Pidgeot and Charizard took off to the skies and began a mock battle. He smiled as Pikachu came up to him, touched him lightly with his tail and ran off with Bulbasaur and Totodile. He'd been tagged, and they expected him to give chase.

"Oh, you guys wanna play, huh?" he said with a grin. "I'm faster than I look!"

"Toto-Totodile!" Totodile said, turning around and wagging it's tail at Ash, taunting him.

After an hour and a half of chasing his Pokemon and supervising Charizard and Pidgeot's mock battle, Ash began to feel tired. He dove after Bulbasaur, but it leapt out of the way. Ash crashed onto the grass, and didn't bother to get up. He watched Bulbasaur laugh as it ran away, chasing Totodile. He smiled and turned to lie on his back to look at the sky. Eight years... it was eight years since he last did this in his backyard. He used to look at the clouds and point out clouds that looked like Pokemon with Gary, before he turned into... well, an ass.

Ash noticed that Brock hadn't called him and was wondering what was going on when he heard light laughter coming from behind the tree. He pushed himself to his feet and started to walk towards the laughter when Misty popped out from behind the tree.

"Hi, Ash." she said with a smile.

"M-Misty..?" Ash asked, his mouth hanging open.

She had changed, too; more so than Brock. Instead of wearing her hair in a side-ponytail, she let it down, where it reached her shoulders. She was wearing an undershirt that matched her hair, a black long-sleeved denim jacket, and a black denim skirt. Ash's eyes grew wide when they were brought to her legs. She'd grown into a... a beautiful woman, Ash concluded.

"Helloooo? Earth to Ash?" Misty said, waving a hand in front of his face.

"...huh? Oh! Wow, Misty, you look great." Ash said lamely.

"Oh! …thanks... You don't look too bad yourself." she said with a blush.

They stood awkwardly in front of each other, looking anywhere but each others eyes.

_'What's wrong with me?' _Ash thought. _'She's my friend, right? I can appreciate my friend looking good, right? Why am I acting all weird, then?'_

_'He... he said I look good!' _Misty thought happily. _'Oh, and all I said was he didn't look bad! I gotta fix this! I gotta say something quick!'_

"So, I hear-" Misty began before she felt arms snaking around her waist.

"I missed you..." he said as he pulled her closer to him.

"I missed you too..." she replied as she slowly moved her arms to hug him back. They stood there for a while, enjoying themselves in each others embrace.

* * *

"Is this really the time?" Gary yelled as he slammed his fist on the table.

"Mom did say to start from 'the beginning'." Ash spat.

"Boys, settle down." Professor Oak said, diffusing the argument before it began. "Ash, Gary does have a point. We'd like to know what happened AFTER you opened your gift and when that... thing arrived."

Ash sighed. Damn Oaks. "Misty had given me a Pokeball. What Pokemon it contained, she wouldn't tell me..."

* * *

"What is it?" Ash asked excitedly as he took it out of the box. The box the Pokeball came in came in a slightly bigger box, and that box came in a slightly bigger box... and that box came in a slightly bigger box, which ended up for an amusing gift-opening.

"You'll have to open it and find out!" she said with a grin.

"Hmmmm..." he couldn't decide whether to open it now or later. Pikachu jumped down from his shoulder and sniffed the ball, uttering a small 'Pika?', making Ash laugh. "I think I'll find out later." Ash said. "If I let it out of it's pokeball now, when I recall it it'd just get transported back to Oak's lab. I'll give it to mom to take care of for now." He gave the pokeball to his mother for safe keeping before returning to Misty and giving her a hug.

"Thanks, Mist."

She smiled even wider at the nicknamed he used for her, and returned the hug. Just when Ash was about to dive into the food that was on the coffee table, they heard a loud noise outside.

"What was that...?" asked Brock. He stood up and went to the front door, Ash and Misty in tow.

They walked out of the front yard, onto the street and looked towards the coast... where they saw a huge flying Pokemon flying inland.

"W-What is that?" Misty exclaimed.

"I don't know..." Ash said. He tried to get a better look at the Pokemon, which proved difficult because night was beginning to fall. It looked like it had three heads, and he could have sworn he'd seen them somewhere. Before he could say anything, one of those heads opened it's beak and began charging a sphere of energy. "LOOK OUT!" Ash yelled, grabbing Misty and Brock and throwing them both on the ground as the Pokemon unleashed the sphere towards the windmill everyone recognized in his town. The sphere hit the windmill dead on, and the top collapsed onto the bottom, ruining it entirely.

"Come on; let's go!" Brock said, running back inside Ash's house.

Everyone was enjoying a nice party when they were started by the loud noise made by the three headed Pokemon. A few were already making their way out of the yard when the trio of trainers ran inside.

"EVERYONE GET THE HELL OUT NOW!" Ash bellowed. "A three headed Pokemon just wrecked Professor Oak's lab, and by the looks of things it's not stopping there!"

Immediately panic spread throughout everyone and they began to crowd around the door, trying to get away. Ash pushed through the crowd of people, trying to get to his mother who was still in the kitchen.

"MOM!" Ash yelled, bursting into the kitchen. Delia was looking for her car keys all over, Oak helping her by pulling drawers out and flipping them upside down to empty their contents. "You need to leave; NOW!"

Another explosion could be heard, this one too close for comfort. Ash looked out the window and he could see the house closest to theirs was engulfed in flames.

"I found them!" Delia exclaimed. "Ash honey, let's go; we can't stay here!"

"You go!" Ash said. "I'll stay here and buy you time to get away from here."

"Ash Ketchum, I don't think so!" Delia practically screamed. "You're coming with me and that's final!"

"Mrs. Ketchum, I don't think now's the time!" said Misty as she came running into the kitchen. "Whatever that thing is, it's making a mess of Pallet! You have to leave now!"

"Let's go, Delia!" Oak said, leading her to the door. "Your son is Kanto's Regional Champion! Surely he can buy us enough time to leave and get away safely!"

Delia looked at Ash, who nodded at her. Ash ran out of the house, grabbing Misty by the hand and ripping a Pokeball off his belt as he went.

They ran into Brock who was shuffling people out of the house. "Are we ready to go?" he asked.

"I'm staying." Ash said.

"I figured as much." Brock said, taking out a Pokeball of his own.

Delia and Oak ran out of the house towards her car, Ash Misty and Brock right behind them.

"Ash!" she called out to her only son before he left. "Please... be careful."

"...I love you mom." he said, before he, Misty, and Brock ran to the coast.

_'That boy...'_ Delia thought with tears in her eyes. She started her car, loaded it with as many people as she could fit, backed out of the drive way and floored it up Route 1, hoping she'd see her son again.

* * *

**Another chapter! I couldn't help but include some AAM fluff; I love the pairing and even though I'm horrible with romance, I figured I might as well learn.**

**Part two of what happened to Pallet Town will come in the next chapter.  
Review? :3 **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

* * *

Ash ran, Pikachu on his head and Pokeball in hand. He looked up towards the Pokemon and it was still raining havoc on his hometown; Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, and Ice Beam were being used to destroy his town building by building. By the time Ash and his friends got near enough to it to battle it, it had flown enough inland to be able to destroy the whole Town, if left unchecked.

"Is that what I think it is?" Brock exclaimed, looking up at the creature.

Ash noticed it too, but didn't want to believe it. He looked up and saw a three headed bird Pokemon, the heads consisting of the heads of the Legendary Bird Pokemon of Kanto; Zapdos, Moltres and Articuno.

"Ash, I don't think we can beat something like that!" Misty said, catching up to him.

"I"m not gonna let it wreck my home!" He yelled. "Go, Bulbasaur!"

The grass/poison Pokemon emerged from his Pokeball in front of Ash, ready to do battle.

"Use Energy Ball!"

"Bulba!"

"Steelix, you help too!" said Brock, tossing his own Pokeball to release the enormous Steel Pokemon. "DragonBreath!"

"Starmie! Use Swift!" Misty cried, releasing her Starmie.

The three Pokemon executed their attacks, but the three headed Pokemon avoided them easily. Now acknowledging that it had opponents, it flew lower to engage them. It used Ice Beam to try and freeze their Pokemon into place, but they ran out of the way, still attacking it.

"If only there was sunlight..." Ash started, before remembering something. "Charizard; Sunny Day!"

Ash released the orange dragon-like Pokemon, and it charged a bright white ball in it's mouth before launching it up in the air. It looked as if someone flicked on a light switch as the immediate area filled with brilliant white light.

"Bulbasaur, SolarBeam! Charizard, Fire Blast!" Ash cried.

Bulbasaur, no longer needing to charge it's attack because of the bright ball in the sky, immediately launched it's attack at the same time Charizard's launched its. Both collided with the three headed avian, but it didn't appear to do much other than make it angry. It swooped down low, engulfing Bulbasaur in a Fire Spin.

"Bulbasaur!" Ash yelled, trying to recall his Pokemon. But he heard no answer. Flames swill swirled around Bulbasaur, intense white flames that allowed passage to no one, even Charizard. The three headed Pokemon swooped down again to launch another attack, this time directed at Charizard. This time Ash feared the worst.

"Charizard, return!" Ash cried, trying to recall his Pokemon. Charizard glared at its trainer, feeling the call of its Pokeball but refusing to obey. It launched a Dragon Rage at its opponent, hitting it in the chest, but it did little damage. "Dammit Charizard!" Ash yelled. "RETURN!" Charizard again glared at its trainer, but did as it was told and retreated into its Pokeball.

Ash noticed the flames around Bulbasaur were dying down, and ran towards it hoping it was alright. His fears were confirmed, however, when Bulbasaur wasn't moving. He tried recalling it into its Pokeball, but it wouldn't come back. The situation dawned on him as he realized his Pokemon wouldn't wake up; it wouldn't recover from its injuries.

"Steelix, try a Hyper Beam!" Brock commanded.

"Snorlax, you too!" Ash yelled angrily, calling out the usually lazy Pokemon. Snorlax didn't lay around, Snorlax didn't disobey, Snorlax didn't fall asleep like it usually did when called out. It's anger was evident on its face at the fact that its Grass type friend was killed. It followed Steelix's lead and launched a Hyper Beam at the avian. It avoided the two attacks, and used Ice Beam, hitting Steelix on the head.

"STEELIX!" Brock yelled as his Pokemon was frozen. Ice Beam started at the head but didn't stop there, making its way down all of Steelix's body, freezing it entirely. "Crobat, go!"

The bat Pokemon soared through the air, ready to challenge the three headed Pokemon. "Lead it out above the water!" Brock commanded.

It did as it was told, using Screech to distract it, it lead the avian further and further away from Pallet Town and towards the coast. Ash and co. ran to catch up with it.

"Starmie hit it with a Rapid Spin!"

Starmie dove into the water, and then jumped out, spinning fast towards it's target. The three headed Legendary Pokemon moved to avoid it and charged another sphere in its Zapdos head's beak. It fired it at Starmie.

"STARMIE LOOK OUT!" Misty screamed. Starmie moved out of the way, but in doing so allowed the Zap Cannon to hit Steelix's frozen body... and shattered it into pieces.

"NOOO!" Brock bellowed.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" Ash cried. The rodent jumped as high as it could, and sent a Thunderbolt towards the Pokemon Ash now dubbed 'Zapmolcuno'.

The Legendary Pokemon, not to be outdone, used it's own Thunderbolt to counter Pikachu's. Immediately after it launched another at Pikachu, and hit its mark. Pikachu collapsed on the ground.

"PIKACHU!" Ash yelled, running after his longtime companion. He picked up his Pokemon and cradled it in his arms. Zapmolcuno wasn't finished, however. It immediately dove at Starmie, the Moltres head's beak in the center spinning rapidly, and impaled Starmie in it's center jewel.

"STARMIE!" Misty screamed. Tears formed in her eyes as the Moltres tried shaking its head to be rid of the carcass of its now deceased opponent. Misty's eyes shone with anger and unshed tears as she took out another Pokeball.

"Golduck use Hyper Beam!" Misty cried. As it appeared next to her it took aim with the jewel on its forehead and fired at the avian. The Hyper Beam hit its wing and it faltered, flying lower and lower, apparently vying to fight on the ground instead of continuing in the air.

"Totodile HydroPump!" Ash called, releasing the crocodilian Pokemon. "Snorlax, get in its face and beat the shit out of it!"

Totodile shot out jet after jet of water at the three headed Pokemon while Snorlax lumbered over to it, growling angrily. Once it got close enough, it began to engage in fierce physical combat with Zapmolcuno, dodging drilling beaks and dishing out its own attacks in kind.

_'Where the hell did this Pokemon come from?'_ Ash thought.

"Crobat close in for a Poison Fang!" Brock yelled.

"Golduck, you too! Get close enough to use Hyper Beam!" Misty cried, tears falling freely down her face.

Golduck ran at Zapmolcuno. It cursed at it for killing its friend, and cursed it a thousand times over for making its trainer cry. Crobat screeched from the skies, opening its mouth and diving to bite the avian. Totodile launched a final HydroPump right before the other Pokemon launched their own attacks, Crobat biting Zapmolcuno in the back and Golduck, who was standing next to Snorlax, launched its Hyper Beam at it. Snorlax held the bird still while all three attacks landed.

It was quiet, only the heavy breathing of their Pokemon could be heard. The trainers all stared at the Zapmolcuno lying limply in Snorlax's arms before it threw it to the ground and growled loudly. It turned around and began to lumber over to Bulbasaur when a Drill Peck pierced straight through its shoulder.

"SNORLAX, NOO!" Ash cried, but he couldn't do anything to help it. His huge Pokemon shrugged off the offending beak and made to counter with an Ice Punch, but was hit with another Drill Peck in the same shoulder, severing the arm. Despite the serious injury, Snorlax still continued on with its attack, aiming to punch Moltres, but the head moved to the side. Snorlax's fist flew between the necks of Moltres and Articuno, and the two heads twisted their necks together, trapping their opponents arm. Both then proceeded to peck viciously at its shoulder, covering their beaks with Snorlax's blood. Again and again they tore chunks of flesh off Snorlax, until its remaining arm hung on only by ligaments and bone.

Ash watched, frozen as this three headed bird tore into his Pokemon. Snorlax roared and tried to get away, but a Drill Peck to it's neck stopped it cold. It choked, falling to its knees trying to breathe. Slowly, the life faded from the Pokemon and it fell on its back. Zapmolcuno's three heads cawing and snapped their beaks in victory, and proceeded to tear open it's prey's belly... and eat.

Ash didn't know what to do. He watched in horror as the three heads fought each other over Snorlax's insides, which was now food for the avian. Ash took a step back, then another. He didn't want this; Pokemon weren't supposed to fight like this. He only wanted to save his hometown from being destroyed... not lose his precious friends this way.

Totodile was the first to recover from watching the grueling scene, and charged at the offending Pokemon eating its friend. It snapped its jaws viciously at Zapmolcuno, and when it got close enough, tore into its right wing. The avian screeched in pain, trying to shake off the small pest interrupting its meal. It flapped its wings and took off into the sky. Higher and higher it went, but Totodile wouldn't let go. The bird began flailing in the air frantically, flapping its wings harder and harder until it flung Totodile in the air. Moltres head used Flamethrower, and hit Totodile dead on in the air. It used it again and again as the Pokemon fell, but it never hit the Earth. While it used Flamethrower, it dived, catching Totodile by its leg. It was no longer moving. It tossed it up in the air, opening its beak when it came back down... and swallowed the water Pokemon.

Ash was brought to his knees as his friends came to their senses and sent their own Pokemon to help, but it was too late. He'd lost two Pokemon in a very horrific way right before his eyes... and he did nothing.

"CROBAT LEAD IT OUT ABOVE WATER!" Brock yelled, losing it.

"Golduck get in the water use Hydro Pump!" Misty cried, running towards Ash. "Ash! Ash snap out of it!" she shook Ash, trying to bring him to his senses, but failed.

Golduck ran towards the beach and dove into the water while Crobat rammed itself into Zapmolcuno, getting its attention and making it fly after it. It lead the avian out above water and began trying to knock out out of the air. Despite being significantly smaller, Crobat again and again tried tackling Zapmolcuno while Golduck launched Hydro Pump from the water. It was beginning to get annoyed. It shot at Crobat with Ice Beam, again and again. Crobat had trouble maneuvering between the barrage of attacks, and eventually was hit. Its wing was frozen, but its opponent wasn't done. It launched another barrage of Ice Beam, freezing all its wings. It plummeted through the air and hit the water with a splash. It wouldn't be seen again.

"Dammit..." Brock cursed.

Zapmolcuno now turned to focus on Golduck, who was trying to blast it out of the air. It launched Hydro Pump continuously, but the bird Pokemon just moved out of the way. It dove at Golduck, using Ice Beam but Golduck moved out of the way. Again and again, it fired its Ice Beam at the duck in the water while the duck maneuvered out of the way to avoid being hit. What it didn't realize was Zapmolcuno was creating a ring of ice around it using the water. When Golduck noticed this, it was too late. Another Ice Beam erupted from Articuno's open beak and Golduck was hit, floating frozen over the water. Zapmolcuno drew its wings to its body and dove faster still, its beaks spinning at an incredible rate. It slammed into Golduck, using Drill Peck and shattered the frozen Pokemon.

Ash, Misty, and Brock all stared as the three headed Legendary Pokemon came up out of the water and soared again through the air, cawing its victory. They didn't know what to do...

* * *

No one spoke as Misty, who had taken over telling the story, broke down in tears. She wasn't the only one; her sisters were crying quietly, hugging each other. Delia's face was stoic, tears flowing down her cheeks as she looked at her son and his friends. Professor Oak had his hands over his face, and Gary was looking down at his hands angrily. The only person who showed no emotion at all was Flint, but Ash guessed he was feeling really bad, too.

"What happened next?" Oak asked, sighing.

Brock answered. "Ash's Charizard burst out of its Pokeball and began fighting Zapmolcuno." He looked sideways at Ash, who had his eyes closed, possibly replying everything in his mind. "We brought out the remainder of our Pokemon and somehow managed to defeat it, losing Gyarados and Pidgeot in the process, but-"

"I killed it."

Everyone looked at Ash, who took Pikachu off his shoulder and put him on the table for everyone to see.

"It was falling after being hit by Brock's and Misty's Pokemon, and I sent Charizard after it. Even after it fell to the ground, Charizard punched it again and again. After... After that, I told Pikachu to-"

"Pika!" said Pikachu angrily, sparks flying out of it's cheeks as it defended its trainer's actions. "Pi-pikachu, Pika-pi chu chu pika!"

Ash smiled at his partner before turning to everyone with a serious look on his face. "I killed it."

Oak couldn't believe what he was hearing; the Regional Champion who, at the age of 10, set out to become a Pokemon Master had killed a Pokemon? He himself had seen a few Pokemon die in his day, but he didn't think Ash was capable of doing so. He set his eyes on the rodent Pokemon he had given Ash eight years ago, disappointed it was used to take another Pokemon's life, but it couldn't be helped. What's done is done.

"We intend to return the favor to whomever made that thing attack Pallet Town." Brock said.

"No, you don't." Flint said, standing up. "You three are children, and I won't let my son risk his life for revenge."

"We're adults!" Misty countered. "Lives were lost yesterday; what you're asking is that we stand by and do nothing while-!"

"Misty, it's too dangerous!" said Violet.

"You're coming with us back to Cerulean Gym after this is over." piped in Lily.

"We need to know you're safe." said Daisy softly.

"The Gym probably isn't safe, either." Brock said. "Viridian Gym was attacked the around the same time Pallet Town was. How do you kno-"

"I don't care," Flint interrupted. "I will protect my son; he doesn't have to fight."

"This is between whomever sent that Pokemon to Pallet Town and the three of us." said Brock. "There's always a possibility of this happening again, either targeting Ash, someone, or something else. If I listen to you and something like that happens, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. So I won't come back with you."

Arguments between parent and child escalated to shouting matches, and if it wasn't for the table in between, things no doubt would have gotten physical. Delia, however, was going to have none of that.

"QUIET!" she yelled, silencing everyone in the room. The power of an upset mother proved to be very frightening. "Ash, what do you plan to do?" she asked.

Ash looked from his mother, to Professor Oak, to Gary. They've lost the most. Like himself, Gary had lost the majority of his Pokemon, and as for his mother and Oak... they had nowhere they could call home anymore. He turned to Misty. She was really torn up when her Pokemon were killed, losing her cool and actually asking to be killed. Brock had his jaw clenched tight, his eyes closed. Ash figured he was furious, and that out of the three of them, wanted blood spilled in return for his Pokemon's. He looked to Flint, and Misty's sisters. They were so worried about their child/sibling, and just wanted to protect them.

What _did_ he want to do? He wanted to cry; he had lost almost every Pokemon he'd ever caught. He wanted to hurt someone; he was so angry that his home was destroyed... he didn't have anywhere to call home anymore...

"I want-" he started, but couldn't finish. "I want..." He looked up to his mother who offered him a small smile. "I want... the Pokeball Misty gave me." Delia's smile grew wider as she took the Pokeball out of her purse and tossed it to her son. Ash held it in his hand, slowly pressing the button on the center to enlarge. He put it on the table for everyone to see.

"Pi?" Pikachu asked Ash, tilting its head to the side.

"I don't know." Ash said, shaking his head. "What do you think, buddy?"

"Pika." it said, shrugging. Everyone watched this exchange with some degree of interest, as they didn't know what they were talking about.

"We'll see soon enough, I guess." Ash said, as he pressed the button on the Pokeball. The bright light that appeared when a Pokemon was being released appeared, causing everyone but Ash to look away. When it died down, they looked back and their jaws all dropped. In Ash's arms was a green/white Pokemon, with a red horn on its head. It looked up at him and smiled, and he could help but to smile back at the little Pokemon. He _felt_ that it was happy to finally meet him, and for the first time in almost a day, he felt happy.

Brock and Misty watched, small smiles of their own decorating their faces. Ash stood up and placed his new Ralts on Misty's shoulder.

Misty looked confused. "Ash? Aren't you-"

Ash bent down low and whispered something into Misty's ear; he spoke too softly for anyone to hear.

Misty blushed as Ash stood up straight and retook his place at the head of the table. He looked at everyone present, and said "I lost almost all the Pokemon I've ever caught throughout my 8 years of being a Pokemon trainer."

Brock stood beside Ash. "I never had a Pokemon die in my care. Yesterday, I lost the first Pokemon I ever got, as well as the first Pokemon I've ever caught while traveling with Ash."

Misty took Ralts off her shoulder and held it in her arms, standing beside Ash. "Most of my Pokemon were killed trying to defend the hometown of Kanto's Regional Champion.

"I'm going to find out who targeted Pallet Town and why, or die in the process." He said with conviction, earning wide-eyed looks from some, looks of disappointment from a few, and a look of pride from one.

"Pika!" Pikachu chimed in, jumping onto Ash's shoulder, taking the hat off its head and putting it on Ash.

"If any one of you wants to stop me," he continued, "I'd like to see you try."

* * *

**Writing this story seems to get easier the more I type. I honestly thought I wouldn't get past the second chapter.  
Review? :3**


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